Derek Landy_Skulduggery Pleasant 01 by Skulduggery Pleasant

Author:Skulduggery Pleasant [Pleasant, Skulduggery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Humorous Stories, Magic, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, General, Fantasy, Horror & Ghost Stories, Fiction, Magick Studies, Fantasy Fiction, Body; Mind & Spirit, Child Wizards, Uncles, Ireland, Quests, Magicians, Heirs and Heiresses
ISBN: 9781410406453
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2007-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

THE RED RIGHT HAND

HOW ARE YOU?”

Stephanie shrugged and managed not to wince. She handed the gun back to Skulduggery. Her entire body ached. “I’m good,” she lied.

Skulduggery glanced at her as he drove. “Are you hurt? Are you injured?”

“No, just a bruise or two. I’m fine, really. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Stephanie, you jumped off a building.”

“Yes, but the branches broke my fall. Every one of them.”

“And how were the branches?”

“A lot unlike pillows.”

“You could have been killed.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“But you could have been.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“I’m not denying that you make a good point, but the fact is you could have been. I’ve already lost a dear friend to all this, and I don’t want that to happen again.”

She looked at him. “Are you saying you’d be very upset if I died?”

“Very is such a strong word. …”

“Well, if you teach me some magic, maybe I won’t get hurt as badly next time.”

“You said you weren’t hurt.”

“Are you kidding? I jumped off a building—of course I’m hurt.”

“Stephanie—”

“Yes, Skulduggery?”

“You can be really annoying at times.”

“I know. So where are we going?”

“We’re going to at least find the doorway to the caves. Then we’ll concentrate on finding the key to open it.”

Half an hour later they arrived at Gordon’s estate. Stephanie climbed stiffly out of the Canary Car and followed Skulduggery inside.

The cellar was chilly and dark, and the single bulb hanging amid cobwebs wasn’t doing its job very well. Countless years’ worth of junk was collecting dust down here, and from somewhere in the dark corners came the occasional scuffle of rats. Stephanie wasn’t scared of rats, as a rule, but she wasn’t too keen on them either, so she stayed away from the corners.

Skulduggery had no such qualms. He examined the walls, scanning the surfaces as he moved sideways along them. Now and then he’d tap the wall, mutter to himself, and move on.

“Is this the same as the way into the Sanctuary?” she asked. “Are you looking for a secret passageway?”

“You watch too many haunted-house movies,” he said.

“But are you looking for a secret passageway?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But that’s just a coincidence.”

She pulled up the sleeve of her coat, revealing an ugly bruise on her arm, and covered it up again before Skulduggery glanced over.

“Did Gordon build the passage?” she asked.

“No, it was included in the original designs. A few hundred years ago, this was a sorcerer’s house.”

“And he built a secret passageway to the caves? I thought you said the caves were a death trap for sorcerers.”

“I did say that, yes.”

“So why did he build himself a shortcut? Was he a stupid sorcerer?”

“No, he just wasn’t a very nice one. He used to drag his enemies down there and leave them to whatever creatures were hungriest.”

“What a charming history. I can see why my uncle bought the place.”

“Aha.”

Stephanie moved closer. Skulduggery’s hand was flat against the wall. He moved it, and she could see a slight indentation, almost invisible to the naked eye.

“That’s the lock?”

“Yes. This is one of those good old-fashioned key-required locks—the kind a spell won’t open.

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